Up Kaloloko

      Yesterday I was putting the finishing touches on a painted lady butterfly, one of the three  butterflies of the genus Vanessa that have been successfully introduced to Hawaii.  The Kamehameha butterfly is also of the genus Vanessa.  If one is a serious butterfly watcher and also a conservationist interested in preserving that endemic, it behooves one to

The paper mache painted lady butterfly perches in some red ginger.

be able to identify the butterflies that would be confused with the Kamehameha.  And so, even though it is unlikely that I will see those other butterflies myself, I'm going to have them in the upcoming exhibit.  

    There are a couple of interesting things about the painted lady.  Originally a North American butterfly, it is found all over the world. Hence, it is also known as the cosmopolitan.  It uses plants of the aster family as its host.  In North America, that includes thistles, among other things.  Who knew that thistles were asters?   A really interesting thing about the painted lady is that the European population migrates 14,500 miles annually.  During migration it pauses 6 times.  On each pause it goes through a life cycle.  So the butterfly that returns to Paris in the spring is the great, great, great, great  grandson, or granddaughter, of the one who left the previous autumn.  

The painted ladies of the Montmarte ala Toulouse Lautrec

   So if you see a painted lady in the Montmarte, it could be the great, great...descendant of a butterfly or the great, great...granddaughter of Toulouse Lautrec.   Ooh la la.

    With my mind full of lepidopteran trivia and my hands covered with paint, I looked up to my sweetie and said, "Why should we be sitting inside on such a beautiful day when we could be outside looking at butterflies?"  And I had just the place in mind. 

    Long ago I would go up Kaloko Drive, a street that climbs up from the Mamalahoa Highway in the Palisades neighborhood that overlooks the Kona airport.  Reaching for the slopes of Hualalai, the volcano that watches over Kona, we would park up around 3,500 feet, get out of the car and

Red Ginger growing wild in the Koloko forest Reserve

walk down the street looking for birds in the o'hia forest.  This was about twenty five years ago and these outings were moderately successful for birds, while simultaneously driving the rest of my family nuts.

    I have returned to Kaloko occasionally, but not in the past six years.  This time, as we drove up the street that was laid down in the virgin ohi'a forest, I noted lots of clearing.  A little had been replanted, but most just lay as open scars on the sloping land.  Sometimes there was equipment, like backhoes and tractors, but mostly just vacant lots.  
    
   Finally we got to our turn, drove in a couple hundred yards and voila, there were five cars parked on the side of a dead end road.  Compared to the lowlands, the air was cooler, but still plenty humid and there were plenty of puddles.  While we were changing into our hiking

Kahili Ginger growing beside the forest trail

regalia, a young couple emerged onto the macadam.  They were wearing shorts, t shirts and boots and allowed that the trail wasn't too muddy.  

    At the trailhead there is a sign, noting the forest trail and a bit further in a tiny kiosk with a few pictures.  After that, one is deposited onto a narrow trail, with occasional muddy patches that climbed through the forest.  It was around 9 AM by this time and the forest was quiet.  Quiet can be pretty nice, but when one is searching for birds a few twitters and chirps would be appreciated.  

    We walked up and back over the next hour and a half.  There were a few flowers, kahili ginger being the most dramatic, with a few flowering trees and a red ginger, as well.  In the ohi'a forest we saw a few of the signature red blossoms.  The most prevalent plant along the trail was the Hawaiian tree fern, which was growing profusely in this wet environment. 

Ohi'a Blossoms,  courtesy Hawaii Public Radio

 

     As you may know, but maybe you don't if you are not in Hawaii, the ohi'a is under attack.  A fungus is infecting the ohi'a causing "rapid ohi'a death".   ROD.  Scientists are at a loss as to how to treat this epidemic.  At the head of every trail is cleaning station, where hikers are asked to clean their equipment.   God willing this scourge will be brought under control.  And while He's at it, maybe he can get the land owners along Kaloko to stop cutting the ohi'a forest.

We saw one yellow bird, but our view was insufficient for identification.

Blackburn's Blue Butterfly.  Photo Hai On

    And what about butterflies?  We saw no large yellow or orange butterflies.  Within the limits of my weak botany skills, I didn't identify any koa or the Hawaiian nettle (mamaki) required by the Kamehameha butterfly.  We did see some tiny gray butterflies.  It was hard to get close to them and they never perched in our view.  

    A quick word about nomenclature.  The common names of butterflies are apparently not sanctioned by a scientific body. like the American Ornithologists Union, which meets every now and then and standardizes the common names for birds.  Hence, this little blue butterfly is is known as the Hawaiian blue, Blackburn's blue, Blackburn's sharptail and the koa butterfly.  

   This can be a problem.  Our

Hawaiian Blue Butterfly Perching

correspondent, Dr. Patrick Hart at UH Hilo, referred casually to the Asian swallowtail as the citrus swallowtail.  That latter name is most correctly applied to a different butterfly not found in Hawaii and, assuming anyone pays any attention to me, seduced me into a bit of a faux pas.  Patrick was correct, though; the Asian swallowtail is not infrequently called the citrus swallowtail, even though these two magnificent butterflies live in the same place in other parts of the world.  Just not here in the Sandwich Islands.    

     Back on the beach at Kawaihae Harbor, our friend Hai had told us that when he had seen Blackburn's blue butterfly it was tiny, about the size of you fingernail, assuming you don't have Samoan sized fingers.  He followed that up with pictures, sending us several photos of two different, tiny gray butterflies, which we are including here.   He had seen these in the

Unidentified tiny butterfly  photo by Hai On

forest near Waimea.  One is clearly Blackburn's and the other is yet to be identified.   Suffice it to say, Hai's ability to get close to and photograph small animals approaches the mystical.   In our sad case, it is impossible to say what we saw with any certainty.  

    As for the trail, it might be worth another visit in the dry season.  If you are our age, I would advise taking a walking stick and some insect repellent.  In any event, I'm sure you will enjoy the peaceful o'hia forest.

jeff